Man United Rekindle Their Interest in Dutch International Matthijs De Ligt

Matthijs de Ligt with Ajax in 2019.
Matthijs de Ligt with Ajax in 2019. Photo by Nigel Keene/ProSports/Shutterstock (10230784k)

Manchester United might make another attempt to acquire Dutch international center back Matthijs De Ligt. According to ESPN’s sources, the Premier League side rediscovered their interest in De Ligt in recent weeks and might try to lure him to Old Trafford in the summer.

Man Utd’s plans, however, largely depends on Juventus’ willingness to part with the talented defender. Juve managed to beat Manchester among other clubs last summer and acquire De Ligt from Ajax in a transfer worth more than $80 million. Still, the 20-year-old faces some growing pains in his first season in Seria A.

De Ligt hasn’t exactly established himself as a sure starter with Juventus, and it seems like he is still a long way from earning manager Maurizio Sarri’s trust. So far in the season, De Ligt started 17 out of 26 Seria A games, while struggling with discipline and earning four yellow cards.

Despite this, it’s hard to see Man United managing to tempt Juventus to sell Matthijs De Ligt without some huge offer that would reset the market for defenders. De Ligt is still young and has room to grow, and Juve isn’t known for letting talent walk out their door so easily.

In case that De Ligt is unavailable, United is expected to turn to other targets in an attempt to bolster their defensive line. Among the candidates are Inter’s starlet Milan Skriniar and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.

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